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Evolutionary Unitarian Universalism
INTRODUCTION Unitarian Universalism is the religious faith / philosophical tradition that, perhaps more than any other, is bringing evolutionary spirituality squarely into its worship services and lifespan religious curricula. The spring 2006 issue of UU World, which is the national magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association, features as its cover story [http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/thewonderofevolution2679.shtml "The Wonder of Evolution"]. Here, the work of Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd — UU "evolutionary evangelists — is featured. Since April 2002, Barlow and Dowd have lived entirely on the road, presenting sermons and workshops on a sacred and celebratory understanding of cosmic, life, and cultural evolution, (in accordance with the discoveries of mainstream science) at more than 150 Unitarian Universalist congregations and churches. Now, many of those same congregations and churches are making evolutionary spirituality an important part of their spiritual work. Barlow and Dowd have a website, [http://www.thegreatstory.org The Great Story], that offers a vast array of educational resources to support UU and other liberal religious and secular ways of bringing a celebratory understanding of the 13.7 billion year story of evolution into religious and secular values education. Great Story website resources that they most highly recommend for Unitarian Universalists are: * [http://www.thegreatstory.org/StardustRitual.html We Are Made of Stardust] * [http://www.thegreatstory.org/great_story_beads.html Great Story Beads] * [http://www.thegreatstory.org/parables.html Evolutionary Parables] * [http://www.thegreatstory.org/NA-ritual-choices.html Coming Home to North America] * [http://www.thegreatstory.org/death-programs.html Death Through Deep Time Eyes] Rev. Michael Dowd also has created a website specifically for Christians, which shows how the core concepts of Christianity can be enriched (rather than merely "reconciled") with a sacred understanding of mainstream evolution. Christian UU's, or UU's whose loved ones are Christians, might find this [http://www.evolutionarychristianity.org Evolutionary Christianity] website helpful. Pagan UU's should refer to the Evolutionary Paganism page of this same evolutionary spirituality wiki site. Unitarian Universalists who already are bringing evolutionary spirituality to their local or regional UU congregations are encouraged to post what they do on the UU Curriculum page of this website and to begin contacting one another directly. Notice at the top that you can click on a discussion tab to discuss with others this theme of UU evolutionary spirituality. By the way, you can easily begin to participate in editing, adding to, and creating new UU Evolutionary Spirituality pages by clicking on the "Help" key in the Navigation Window upper left, and then clicking on the tutorial. There you will learn, in about 15 minutes the basics of using the very simple wiki editing instructions, including how to create text that links to external pages that you deem useful. Participate! * CLICK TO RETURN TO Evolutionary Spirituality Theory and Practice to see how a sacred understanding of evolution is enriching other religious and philosophical worldviews. * CLICK TO GO TO UU Curriculum page. Resources Metareligous Essay * "Fire and Emptiness: Unitarian Universalism and the Universe Story", by Prof. Patricia Gordon, is a moving personal and visionary essay about how evolutionary spirituality might enrich the Unitarian Universalist tradition. It is one of many "metareligious essays" available on The Great Story website.